:A Term of Endearment

Saturday, June 21, 2014

The longest day

Naturally, that means that tomorrow starts our headlong rush toward winter. Yes, this is how I have to see it because I live in a place that gets Africa hot as our Sil once charmingly put it. I could be one of Sean Bean's people on Game of Thrones. Winter is coming...

Oddly enough, so is a doily...

The pattern is called Minaret #S-392 and it is from a pattern booklet from 1953.

Being too lazy to figure out what a No. 14 knitting needle was in the 1950's, I went with a 2mm/US0 circular and DPNs. I also used bamboo crochet thread that I had in my stash from another doily project. Back when I was figuring out how to knit lace in the round. I used just under two balls of the bamboo thread, which I love. At some point, I'm going to knit a garment with that stuff.

I abandoned the original cast on because I don't know how to turn crochet stitches into knit ones. The intial start was fiddly but 5 stitches on 3 DPNs is just going to be fiddly. There were some issues later on with the pattern but nothing that could not be fixed on the next pattern round. Frustrating but not much to be done now. I'm assuming the person who designed this pattern is dead, btw.

I enjoyed making this doily, love that the pattern came from one of my mum's pattern booklets, and can see this being used often once it's reblocked to be round. Yeah...

I've been looking around for the next one. I may have found it, but we'll have to see. I have to do some yarn pondering, and speaking of yarn...

I'm not new. Not to blogging, not knitting, not to dealing with people. If I talk about something here, chances are very good that I already have a plan in mind. Unless I ask for opinions or ideas, of course. To be honest, the asking of questions tends to happen in private. This happens because I do not enjoy being told things that everyone knows already. I tend to find that insulting as I am slightly smarter than your average house cat. While I am trying to see the comments as attempts as helpfulness, that isn't really working and I am instead finding myself annoyed.

Something about what I've been put through in the last few years, I would think. I was talking to a girlfriend the other day and we kept coming back to the point that life's too short. Too short to deal with horrible people. Too short to get sucked into someone else's dramas. Just too short.

Oh, and the pink yarn from the other day? The pattern didn't work out. Now I'm pondering another pattern, but we'll see. Mercury is still fucked up and I'm trying to keep my temper in check.

Comments

Happy first day of summer which means that the season finally fits the temps. Only 5 more months til fall, probably 6 for you. I do love that doily and the enamel dish looks exquisite on it. Happy Saturday, person!!!!

You've been making me think about making doilies! It's been a long time since I made one. I don't think I ever knit one other than a washcloth-type - the old ones were all crocheted. But I could use a couple on my nightstands. Square might be better than round, though.

It's a very pretty doily. The stitch pattern closest to the outside edge is very cool. The kinda pineappley skin looking stuff. Yea, probably doesn't look like that in person.
Yay! Summer! If it only acts like summer now in our part of the world. We are barely eeking out 70s yet.
Have a good weekend!
xoxo

You are a wonder to have knit something so beautifully perfect from an old pattern you had to decipher. You must feel quite the accomplished knitter to have created something that lovely. The edging is stunning.

Oh, that turned out nice! I especially like those textured sections on the outer part and the flares at each of the points.

My Mom has a big book of doily patterns that my Grandmother collected over the years, back in the bad old days of Knitting-is-not-cool. She used to have us scour used book stores and magazines, looking for *knitted* doilly patterns (everything we found was crochet). Memorably she once found a pattern book in Italian and had my Dad take it to work and get his Italian coworker to translate it. It's always a pleasure when I can find a new pattern and pass it on to Mom for her to knit.

What's especially impressive about your doily is knowing that you knit it without charts. (This pattern is as old as I am, I am older than charts, therefore this pattern didn't have charts.)
And, as we both very well know, knitting lace without a chart can be a one-way ticket to LoopyLand...

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